BIOGRAPHY
Jonathan Allen was born on January 16th, 1995, in Anniston, Alabama. He currently plays defensive end in the NFL.
Prior to his college career, Allen attended Stone Bridge High School. As a senior in 2012, he was the Virginia Gatorade Football Player of the Year. During his career, he had 308 tackles and 44 sacks. Allen was a five-star recruit and was ranked at the top of his class.
During his college career in his freshman season in 2013, Allen was a backup defensive end who played his way into the rotation along the defensive line. He appeared in 13 games, with 16 total stops and ten solo tackles and had half of a sack, a forced fumble, and one quarterback hurry.
In 2014 during his sophomore season, Allen established himself as a playmaker at defensive end and one of the Crimson Tide’s top pass rushers. He was the first-team All-SEC by the Associated Press and second on the team with 11.5 tackles for loss (-44 yards) and had 5.5 sacks (-30 yards). Allen finished with 33 total tackles, including 16 solo stops and seven quarterback hurries, and blocked the decisive extra point at Arkansas. Allen played in all 14 games and made 12 starts. He earned Defensive Player of the Week honors from the Alabama coaching staff against West Virginia, FAU, and Tennessee and also earned Special Teams Player of the Week honors for his blocked PAT at Arkansas.
During his junior season in 2015, Allen was one of the most productive defenders and best pass rushers along the Tide’s vaunted defensive front. He was named to the All-SEC First Team defense by the conference coaches and the Associated Press and ranked 17th nationally and second in the SEC in sacks with .80 per game (12.0 sacks). Allen recorded 36 tackles on the season with a team-leading 14.5 tackles for loss (-92 yards) and added four pass breakups and six quarterback hurries. Allen was named one of the Alabama coaching staff’s defensive players of the week for his efforts against Wisconsin in the season opener, at Texas A&M, at Mississippi State, at Auburn, and against Michigan State.
During his senior season in 2016, Allen was one of the nation’s best defensive players and most feared pass rushers. He was selected as one of the Crimson Tide’s permanent team captains for the 2016 season. Allen finished his career ranked second in Alabama history for career sacks with 28.5 (-205 yards) behind College and Pro Football Hall of Famer Derrick Thomas and was the winner of the Bronko Nagurski Trophy, Chuck Bednarik Award, and Ted Hendricks Award. He was also chosen as a first-team All-American by Pro Football Focus and Sports Illustrated and named the Southeastern Conference Defensive Player of the Year. Allen earned the first-team All-SEC honors by both the coaches and the Associated Press. Allen was selected as the SEC Defensive Player of the Week for his performances against USC and Texas A&M.
The Commanders selected Allen in the first round of the 2017 NFL Draft. On May 11, 2017, the Commanders signed Allen to a four-year contract. Allen returned for the 2018 season and started all 16 games. He recorded eight sacks, 61 total tackles, and 15 quarterback hits.
